Damned of the Wasteland
by Wolfboywarrior
Summary: Sequel to Wasteland Ghost, The war with the Enclave has begun and they seem to be targeting Ruby's friends left and right to get to her! Can she stop them? Can she survive a full-scale war? With new friends and new enemies she only knows two things. There is plenty of killing to do and plenty of blood to drink. Tune in and find out!
1. Chapter 1: A Stirring Plot

_September 17__th__, 2277 9 hours after James Hanson's death_

Colonel Augustus Autumn had never been so pissed in his life, that foolish scientist pointlessly ending his own life to save his child and colleagues. To make matters worse, all pursuit teams that were sent after them in the Taft Tunnel had been slaughtered either by weapons fire, blade wounds or the local feral ghoul population. As he exited the Vertibird upon returning to Raven Rock headquarters he thought of the crimson eyed young woman that was the late scientist's daughter. _If that man refused to divulge control of the facility then perhaps with a little 'convincing' his daughter may cooperate more willingly. _He thought as he stepped through the hall. As he began walking through the underground military facility he spotted his aid coming towards him with a holo-pad. "Colonel Autumn we searched for information about the young woman you described to us when you were en-route from the Jefferson Memorial and I believe we may have found something." He said as he gave him the pad.

Augustus looked over the pad seeing the residential listings for what was supposedly rumored to be the only Vault within the area that was still active. As he scrolled through the list his finger immediately stopped on two names. "James Hanson and Ruby Hanson hm…? Those are definitely the defiant father and daughter two the daughter especially costing us so many casualties with her and her friends." He said as his aide nodded in response. "2nd Lieutenant Banning believes she was able to make contact with the vault's Overseer via comms." Augustus smiled with approval, finally some good news was in order. "Thank you for reporting this to me Corporal Avery, I shall head to the communications room immediately." Avery saluted and then walked away as Augustus proceeded to the communications room where a blonde woman waited for him dressed in a dark officers uniform. "Atten-shun!" She said as her and her colleagues immediately stood from their chairs and saluted Augustus as he entered the room. "At ease everyone," he said causing the communications specialists to relax as they sat back in their chairs. He looked over at the woman and asked. "Lieutenant, I was told you achieved communications with Vault 101?" She nodded. "Just 3 hours ago sir, I have the Overseer standing by as we speak, however he says the younger population of the vault's residents are in revolt, shall I dispatch an assault team to clear out the vault?"

Augustus stood there for a second as he took out a cigar and lit it beginning to smoke as he thought it over for a minute. Finally he looked at her and said "No…no I think the Overseer can be useful to us, let me speak with him." She nodded and gave him the headset.

Alphonse Almodovar was slowly losing his mind, first that meddlesome defiant Doctor Hanson betrayed his "hospitality" and left the vault. Then his slutty freak of a daughter follows suit going bats hit insane for his interrogation of Amata as she almost killed him by shooting him in the leg. And to make matters worse, his own daughter practically severs all ties with him by starting a silly pointless rebellion! Now someone claiming they were from the Enclave was able to contact him directly in his own office! _Just one fucking thing after another! _He thought as his radio chimed up again and the smooth and silky voice of a southern gentlemen came through the speakers. "Greetings Overseer this is Colonel Augustus Autumn of the Enclave, I understand you are having an issue with your citizens." Alphonse immediately picked up the radio as he responded. "Yes my own daughter is leading a rebellion against me and the vault itself has been falling apart from various radroach attacks!" The voice at the other end of the radio seemed to nod in understanding as he continued. "Calm down Overseer Almodovar, we have your location on our map now and we shall send reinforcements to assist you and your men within 8 days time."

Alphonse couldn't believe his ears, "8 days?! 8 fucking days?! You do not understand Colonel these little punks are unpredictable! My guards have already had 3 skirmishes with them already!" Augustus seemed to reassure him as he said. "Which is why for now we are going to dispatch a delivery team of sorts to bring you some fresh supplies for you and your men, our situation is worse off out here as we are in conflict with savages left in right. So until then hold for as long as you can you aren't the only pure pieces of humanity left, you aren't alone." Alphonse sighed with relief as the thought of the savages came to mind. "Savages?! Just how many of them are there outside?! Have they found my vault?!" Augustus's voice seemed to take on a dark and serious tone. "I'm afraid there are too many for even the Enclave to simply exterminate alone." Alphonse fell silent for a moment as he finally asked. "What are you saying Colonel…?" To which he swore he could hear the puff of a cigar. "Make no mistake Mr. Almodovar, war is coming….with all its glory….and all its horror." And that was when the communications died. Alphonse quickly transmitted the Vault's password to their coordinates before he relaxed in his chair. "They are coming to save us…." He said and that was when he felt his leg throbbing where he'd been shot. "That stupid girl…I'm going to have her dragged by her hair and publicly executed if she returns…"

Amata stood hidden behind the wall in shock at what she just heard. _Dad's never let in outsiders before! What could be going on?! _She thought and quickly ran away passing the main security checkpoint and a sleeping Officer Taylor towards her new headquarters as leader of the rebels. Butch watched her curiously as she ran into the clinic and began trying to transmit a call for help on a radio they were able to steal from the security forces. "C'mon…C'mon…I hope you get this message Ruby…."

_ 1 day later_

"Hold still Maggie! You still got some gunk in your hair!" Ruby said giggling as scrubbed Maggie Creel's head as the two were in the bath tub together inside her home in Megaton. The little girl squirmed and squealed as she slipped free of Ruby's grip. "No fair! you're the one that always gets dirty! why shouldn't I be the one bathing you?!" She said trying to grab a wash rag as Ruby began tickling her. "Well I'm not the one who got Mole Rat entrails all over me!" Maggie whimpered as she laughed from Ruby's tickling. "How was I supposed to know the explosion wasn't so close to us when it stepped on your landmine?!" She said as she stared up at her with trembling eyes. Ruby laughed as she rubbed the little girl's head. "Okay okay fair point, tell you what, next time you can wash my back next alright?" Maggie squealed with delight and hugged her as tight as she could snuggling against her neck. "I'm going to hold you to that okay? After we go hunting again." Ruby smiled and kissed her head. "Don't worry I don't break promises."

_2 hours later _

Ruby stared at herself in the mirror as Maggie snuggled up in her bed as she waited for her now clean clothes to dry. It had been barely a day since her dad had died and the vivid image of his final moments still hung heavy in her mind. Since she cut her hair at the Citadel as the Brotherhood of Steel mobilized for war against the Enclave she now had it at neck-length as it had now hung loose and messy, the tips softly tickling her skin. After that day that was when her and her friends had split up. Malika and Bale had left to return to their own home camp, Ruby could still see the emotional look of sadness in the young tribal woman's eyes as she had left. Hazel meanwhile had enlisted to join the Brotherhood of Steel and was now currently training as an Initiate for their sniper teams. _Just one friend isn't with us…_ She thought as she briefly thought of the tall burly ghoul mercenary whom she had saved from enslavement in Underworld named Charon. He had bravely sacrificed himself in Taft Tunnel staying behind to hold off power-armored Enclave troopers as they fiercely attempted to prevent their escape to the Citadel.

She heard a sad whimpering as she looked down and saw Dogmeat looking up at her his eyes full of worry. She smiled and petted his head. "don't worry about me buddy, I'm just thinking about everything that's happened…hell its basically just you, me and Thorn again." As if on cue she heard a small splashing in the bathtub as she turned and saw the little spirit girl herself naked in the tub smiling at her as she bathed herself. "_We all know what's coming next… I can hardly wait." _She said giggling in a madness filled manner. Ruby sighed as she knew Thorn was right, As far as Owyn Lyons and the rest of the Brotherhood of Steel were concerned she was under their protection as well as pretty much an unofficial recruit as she remembered Sarah telling her to go relax for as much as possible before her first orders came in.

She walked into her room and redressed throwing on some jeans, boots and a clean shirt she found and walked out as Maggie comfortably slept. As she stopped at the door she looked at Dogmeat. "I'll be back later buddy keep an eye on Maggie alright?" Dogmeat wagged his tail in response as he sat down obediently watching Ruby leave.

It was late in the night as the moon glittered down upon the rusty town of Megaton. Ruby yawned as she went down to Jenny's saloon finding the red-headed woman at her counter wiping some glasses as Jericho attempted to flirt with her. Ruby quickly shoved Jericho past and leaned against the counter. "Got any spare six packs of Nuka Cola Jenny?" She asked ignoring Jericho's glaring eyes. The woman smiled happy to be speaking with someone other than her would-be sleazy drunken suitor. "Sure Ruby I got some in the fridge I'll go get one." Jenny said as she walked away to the outdoor fridge near the counter. As Jericho glared at Ruby that was when she noticed him grin off the corner of her eye. "Word on the street is that you have basically been the new caretaker of Billy's 'daughter'." Ruby sighed pressing her palm against her forehead. "I really don't have time for your bullshit again Jericho so please if you would kindly fuck off I can go about my business." Jericho shrugged as he got off his stool and walked past her mumbling. "Well I suppose an albino freak of a girl is a better person to take care of that little brat than an ex slaver like Billy."

That was when Jericho found himself thrown onto the counter as Ruby's hands grasped his neck tightly as she glared into his eyes snarling. "What the fuck do you know about Billy?! He rescued that little girl after she lost her parents to Raiders!" Jericho struggled desperately as Ruby was attempting to crush his windpipe with her bare hands. "I used to hear about guys like him a lot when I was a Raider okay?! And why the hell else do you think he's been getting drunk off his ass lately?! The pussy feels guilty that's why!" As Ruby grasped tighter she felt Jenny's eyes on her. She looked over at Jenny and sighed apologetically as she let go of Jericho letting him get off the counter. "Get your ass home Jericho before I kill you!" Jericho grinned as he grabbed his bottle of whiskey and shuffled away guzzling down the bottle. She felt Jenny put the Nuka Cola pack in her hands and Ruby quickly paid her the caps plus extra for the damage she had caused. "I'm really sorry Jenny, I'll make it up to you tomorrow I promise!" Ruby said pleadingly as Jenny shook her head smiling "Oh don't worry you already made it up to me with the extra caps besides I always like seeing that fucker Jericho get his ass kicked." Ruby blushed with embarrassment and giggled before saying goodbye and returning home placing the Nuka Cola in one of her refrigerators and heading upstairs, stripping down and crawling into bed with Maggie to finally end their little sleepover.

The next morning she was awoken by Dogmeat barking at the door excitedly. She groaned as she lazily slipped on a tank top and some panties and walked downstairs. "who is it Dogmeat?" She asked as she opened the door. In the doorway stood a young woman who looked to be at least a little older than Ruby with jet-black hair and green eyes. Ruby rubbed her eyes as she slowly recognized the woman having only seen her in power armor. "Dusk?" The woman grinned as she was now donning thick grey fatigues of with a Kevlar vest along with jeans and thick boots. "time to pack up kid your orders just came through," Ruby yawned as she asked. "What's going on? I mean aside from the war and everything." Dusk frowned and sighed. "Arefu's been hit, Sentinel Lyons needs us to fortify Big Town while the bulk of our forces set up an HQ at Springvale Elementary." Ruby's eyes went wide as she bit her lip. "Shit…." She said and mumbled. "so much for confronting Billy…" and immediately went to pack her gear.

** I apologize for this I'm trying to put together the new Servant cast for "The Blue Heaven's Feel" so for now this will run parallel along with it. On a good note however I'm really excited to getting back into writing this so look forward to more in addition to my other story. **


	2. Chapter 2: A Plan Coming Together

Ruby couldn't shake the intense fear and worry slithering through her body as her and Knight Captain Dusk proceeded to Big Town. "Hey Dusk?" Ruby asked seeing the pale Asian woman look at her curiously. "Why did the Enclave attack Arefu? It doesn't seem like its of much strategic importance or anything." Dusk looked ahead as she sighed solemnly remembering the report she had heard in the Lyon's Den when it was first announced by Sarah Lyons. "After the Enclave attacked Project Purity Three Dog made sure the whole Capital Wasteland heard about it, and no sooner did the war begin, we started getting an immense amount of support from several settlements along the Potomac, albeit it was all mostly cheers but every little bit helped our morale, it was then we found out all these settlements were places you had gone to and helped."

Ruby was silent as she listened to her. "And when the Enclave began mobilizing in other areas the people of Arefu were the first to stir up anti-Enclave protests. And…" Dusk seemed to bite her lip in anger as she spoke. "Suddenly an assault team of Enclave troopers were deployed and assaulted the town…from what we heard they justified it as 'putting down an act of civil disobedience.'" Ruby gagged almost feeling sick imagining a well-trained and heavily armed team of Enclave troopers marching into Arefu and robotically gun down the entire town's population. _Evan…Karen…Ian…Brailee…Ken…5 people slaughtered…_ It was at that moment she remembered the town's trump card. "Do we know if there were any survivors?" Ruby asked. Dusk immediately stopped and gave her a look. "Ruby I know it hurts…believe me I've been there but you have to realize that everyone in that town is dead got it?!" She said as Ruby noticed her own hands trembling, "We don't know that for sure Dusk! What about the Family?! Vance promised he'd have his people protect Arefu with their lives!" Dusk's hands now trembled with frustration as she yelled. "Do you seriously think a rag-tag gang of thugs would've made a difference?! Think for a second Ruby! It takes only one Brotherhood Paladin to wipe a town off the map. ONE! Just what the hell do you think a team of SIX Enclave soldiers can do!?"

Ruby fell silent for the rest of the journey silently praying that Vance was able to evacuate Arefu in time. Finally as they approached a very familiar looking rope bridge crossing into the town she finally asked. "When did the Enclave attack..? Like what time are we talking?" Dusk sighed almost throwing up her hands in frustration. "It was 4 a.m. when the assault occurred why?" That's when Ruby smiled softly nodding to herself. "No reason…no reason at all." As they entered they noticed a commotion in the center of town as a crowd of the town's teenage citizens were running from building to building bringing out supplies. Dusk was almost dumbfounded. "It's practically a whole town of teenagers…who look as if they know the Enclave are coming." Ruby walked forward with a bright smile on her face as she told Dusk. "That's because it is a town full of teenagers, although I'm as surprised as you are, last time I was here everybody was practically shitting themselves silly worrying about Super Mutants or Slavers. I armed em up as best I could but I've never seen them act this way before."

As familiar pale-skinned red-headed teenage girl stopped and saw the two newcomers she began running towards them. "Ruby your back!" She yelled. Ruby saw the girl and smiled picking the once outcast of the town Bittercup into her arms. "Oooohh Bittercup babe! I knew you were too stubborn to die!" She said as she passionately kissed the goth girl deeply on the lips. Dusk chuckled as she lightly slugged Ruby in the arm. "Hey hey! Get a room you two you can fuck later for right now we are here to help." Ruby childishly stuck her tongue out at Dusk as she put Bittercup down. "As much as I would like to kick my good friend here in the cunt for being a total wet blanket she does have a point," To which Dusk replied with a chuckle. "Well Ruby I'm afraid you can suck my dick if you have a problem with that." This caused a hearty laugh to rise from the three of them until Bittercup explained the situation.

"It wasn't until this morning that this one white-haired woman and her dog came in with a ton of bags of supplies. She claimed to be a friend of yours saying she saw what had happened to Arefu and came to have us prepare a defense." She said as Ruby gasped momentarily taken aback. "You mean Malika and Bale are here?!" Bittercup seemed to nod slowly as she said. "Yeah at least that's what I think she said her name was, She's in Red's clinic right now talking with her and Pappy having some pow-wow strategy meeting or something." Dusk nodded as she looked at Ruby, "You know this town better than I do you go ahead and head in I'll see what I can do to pitch in around here." Ruby nodded as Bittercup lead her over to Red's clinic. "I missed you so much Ruby…." Bittercup said with a deep blush. "After we found out on the radio what happened I was so terrified worrying that you had died…You have no idea how relieved I was when we heard you and those scientists were safe but…that one guy Three Dog said was missing…He was your Dad wasn't he?"

Ruby slowly nodded forcing back the tears she felt were coming. "Yeah….Never even got to say goodbye he just…died right before my eyes…." Bittercup took Ruby's hand into hers and smiled. "I'm sorry Ruby…" She said as Ruby gave her a sad smile. "It's alright….Dad earned his ticket out of this fucking Wasteland anyway doing what he did for humanity…" Bittercup's eyes trembled as she hugged her hero and savior girlfriend tightly comforting her. "Is there anything I can do Ruby…?" She asked whispering in her ear. Ruby chuckled and grinned as she said while playfully grabbing Bittercup's ass and squeezing it causing her to squeal with surprise and delight. "Well if there's time and provided the Enclave hasn't come to blast us into goo by that point we could go for another romantic frolic in the junkyard during the night. It'd be like when we first met." Bittercup giggled her face carrying a heavy crimson flush. "I'd really like that…although…" Ruby tilted her head as she asked. "Why although? Not up for another night of hot steamy sex in the junkyard?"

Bittercup smiled sheepishly as she replied. "Oh no nothing would turn me on more than that but I spoke with Kimba and Red and they said they'll let you bunk with me in the Clubhouse so long as we are….you know…quiet." She said as her face turned red with embarrassment. Ruby smiled and grinned kissing Bittercup deeply. "Of course we'll be quiet they call me a Ghost for a reason ya know." She said as her smile turned lewd. "And with the things I plan to do to you you'll be putty before you know it." "Ooohhh I'm so going to hold you to that." Bittercup purred before giving Ruby another kiss on the lips and watching her enter Red's clinic.

Ruby was immediately greeted with smiles and hugs all around by Malika, Red and Pappy as she noticed a map that Malika had pinned on the wall. That was when the tribal woman brought everyone back into focus. "Now as far as I can tell the Enclave has set up a small outpost not far from Arefu I'm only assuming they are using it as a staging area to bring a force here and push onwards up the Potomac." Pappy and Red only nodded quietly as Ruby stood there surprised at how sudden and rapid it seemed that Malika had entered a settlement full of strangers she never met and immediately rose to the occasion in commanding a defense to save their lives. That was when she chuckled and mumbled to herself. "It's just like with the muties…" Malika was doing just like what Ruby herself did those many weeks ago when Big Town was nearly abandoned and everyone was scared for their lives. That was when Red piped up. "We only have one problem Malika." Malika turned and looked at her pausing her own briefing. "What is it Red?" she asked in a commanding tone.

Red didn't flinch from it as she said. "Even with the supplies you brought us when you first came here we are still extremely limited on weapons and ammunition, we need to be well equipped if a force of over-zealous power armored madmen are going to come knocking on our doorstep." Malika nodded and sighed as she looked at me and Pappy. "Red's right, if we took em on with what we got now we'd be slaughtered." Pappy said. Finally Ruby raised her hand as if in a classroom. "I know where we can get some more." Everyone turned to Ruby in curiosity as Malika asked. "Okay I'm open to ideas, where can we get more weapons and ammo Ruby?" Ruby gave a sheepish smirk as she said. "Evan King's house of course, he's got a whole armory stocked up in there." Everyone else in the room looked at each other in confusion as Red asked. "And how do you know this Ruby?" She asked raising an eyebrow. Ruby chuckled like a small child who swiped his favorite squirt gun from his parents while grounded. "I might've seen it while 'acquiring' a neat little bobblehead that I deemed unfit to be in his possession." she said with a sly smile. Pappy and Red chuckled as Malika put her hand to her forehead like an embarrassed mother who caught her child doing something wrong and looked at Red and Pappy putting her hand towards Ruby. "The Lone Wanderer and Wasteland Ghost ladies and gentlemen, our hero." Which stirred a laugh from everyone in the room as Ruby dismissed herself to go unpack her Winterized T-51b power armor.


	3. Chapter 3:A Little Fatal Mischief

It took Dusk a little while before she saw Ruby leaving clad in one of the most advanced models of T-51b power armor she'd ever seen. She looked at a couple of the townie citizens she'd been helping unload supplies whose names were Kimba and Flash. "I'll be right back I'm going to go help Ruby." She said as the both of them nodded watching her follow after Ruby. Ruby was too busy gushing over how awesome her suit of power armor was to notice Dusk behind her. "Man I love the HUD this thing has! Just all the different systems are fantastic!" she yelled her voice being audible through the helmet's voice mic.

That was when Dusk caught up with her as she held her sniper rifle in her hands. "Hey Ruby where the hell did you get that suit of power armor and who in the hell trained you how to use it?!" She said still surprised that Ruby was even wearing power armor at all. Ever since The Brotherhood of Steel took Ruby and her group plus the Rivet City scientists under their protection she seemed to almost immediately get along with almost everyone. Dusk had heard Colvin brag about how much of a great marksman Ruby was and as much as it irritated Dusk; she couldn't help but like her as well. She'd also heard Sarah and Vargas talk about her skills as a leader as well, that's one of the reasons they asked her to bring Ruby along for the mission, to test her skills as a leader for the rest of the higher-ups in the chapter to see. So far however, as much as Dusk liked Ruby and as much as she wanted to challenge the girl on the firing range, she wasn't impressed so far with her as a commander.

"I got this baby from the Outcasts of course," Ruby said with a smile in her voice and held up her hand as she saw the shock rising on Dusk's face. "They also gave me the training." Dusk was speechless, the Brotherhood of Steel Outcasts were the traditionalist faction that broke away from the chapter back when they first arrived into Washington DC due to disagreements with Elder Lyons's belief that it was their responsibility to assist the people of the Capitol Wasteland. Since then, as far as Dusk knew, the Outcasts were busy doing what the other chapters out west were probably doing, collecting high-grade military tech and "preserving" them while at the same time, being more likely to shoot wastelanders asking for help rather than agreeing to help them. She chuckled in disbelief as she asked. "Okay Ruby, let's say you did get this power armor from the Outcasts, and let's say they did train you on how to use it. Now that begs the question, 'Why?' and 'How did you convince them?'"

Ruby looked at her through the helmet as if she'd been punched in the ribs. "I'm serious Dusk, one of their Protectors named McGraw had specifically requested my help, and in exchange he let me have a share of the loot." Dusk shook her head chuckling again, "There's no way that could have been a popular decision among his men that's for damn sure." Ruby giggled as she longingly sighed at the memory. "No it wasn't, as soon as I completed the Operation: Anchorage simulation and began taking stock some asshole by the name of Sibley tried slaughtering him along with me and his only scribe." Dusk spat on the ground in disgust at the thought of such a mutiny occurring, still, she was surprised a commander within the Outcasts sought out an outsider's help. "So was it you three against him or what?" She asked as she noticed Arefu in the distance.

"Nope, it was us three against him and more than half a dozen heavily armed Outcasts, I killed them all though!" Ruby said with a cheery glee in her voice that sounded even more unnerving through the helmet to Dusk. Dusk shivered when she wasn't looking, "Great I'm friends with a heavily armed psychopath…" She mumbled and then noticed how close they were getting to Arefu. "Why are we coming here Ruby?" She asked as she flicked the safety off of her PSG-1 sniper rifle. Ruby checked her Pip-Boy ensuring that the nearby Enclave personnel within the camp wouldn't detect them going into the town, "We are here to gather up weapons and ammo for everyone in Big Town." Dusk tilted her head in confusion, "In there?" She asked as she gazed at the smoldering ruins of the houses. "Yeah, the sheriff of the town, Evan King had a whole armory stocked up in his house." Ruby said as she pointed at the largest of the houses.

Dusk wasn't so sure about this plan. "I can understand having your own personal armory around but what I'm wondering is why?" Ruby shrugged, "The guy was a paranoid nervous wreck, and he thought The Family was going to storm the town, so he fumbled out grenades anytime anyone got close." She said as she groaned remembering when he almost killed her and Dogmeat with a pipe bomb. As they came up on the ramp going onto the wrecked highway overpass into Arefu the both of them fell silent and entered the town.

"_Delta 22, this is Ravens Nest come in, over." _A familiar voice came in over comms as Lieutenant Jackson answered from his MK II power armor HUD. "There's that sweet voice I've been missing all day, how have you been Delilah?" He said with a cocky, flirtatious tone in his voice. "_Cut the crap already Logan!" _the voice replied with irritation in her tone. He sighed as he said. "How can I when that sexy voice of yours keeps drawing me over to your quarters Lieutenant Banning?" The female comms officer groaned on the other end and sighed looking forward to ending the conversation as quickly as it had started. "_Listen you horny little dipshit, we've got word that the BOS sent one of their Knights and Objective Boudicca to defend the settlement 1 click east of your position." _Logan raised his eyebrows with interest as he chuckled. "They sent in their poster girl already? This is going to be so easy." Delilah sighed as she slapped him through the communications channel with her words as she said. "_Get serious about this asshole, this girl practically took on most of Captain Krueger's company by herself and won." _Logan shrugged it off as he said. "Yeah Yeah, I know I know we all saw the report." And then he cut the channel before she could say more. He looked at the picture that was given to all Enclave units as their VIP target to capture alive. "Hmmm…hard to believe this girl is supposed to be dangerous." He mumbled as he turned around and began prepping his men for the assault.

As Dusk nestled down amongst some wrecked concrete roadblocks to keep an eye on the camp, Ruby had already gone inside Evan's house and started carrying out ammunition boxes, rifles, and even a LMG. As Dusk watched over the camp she noticed that the troopers within were conducting some final combat drills. _That's not a good sign…It seems like those soldiers are all ready to move out towards Big Town. _She thought as suddenly Ruby was crouched down beside her with a large Gauss rifle in her hands. Dusk stared at the thing and then looked up at her as she asked. "Let me guess, that was part of your share of the loot right?" Ruby seemed to smile through her helmet and almost nod as she said "Yeah, also there are no bodies here." Ruby seemed to childishly giggle at her little momentary victory. Dusk groaned as when they first entered the town she had already taken note of the lack of corpses, there wasn't even a pile to account that the Enclave had burned them. "Yeah yeah you were right I know but just so you know I will be kicking your ass when we head back to give our report." She could almost feel the smirk in Ruby's voice as she muttered, "You're on; I would happily fight you three times over."

As Ruby peeked out over the side and saw the movement within the camp. "Well they certainly look ready to kill us don't you think?" Dusk nodded as she began to look through her scope again. "I have an idea, let's pick our targets, give them hell and cause as much damage as possible, and then we get the fuck out with the goods." She said as she adjusted the dial on the scope of the Gauss rifle increasing its range capacity. Dusk smiled, as crazy as it sounded Ruby's idea was one she could get behind. "Maybe you will make a badass commander one day…" She mumbled. "What was that?" Ruby asked as she looked down at her. "Nothing, let's just fuck them up already before we get compromised." Ruby silently nodded as she took aim on the nearest set of targets she could find, and then the both of them each pulled their triggers firing five full shots. "It's time to go Dusk!" Ruby yelled as she grabbed her and they took what they could carry escaping with their lives. Meanwhile Lieutenant Jackson and his men were busy behind cover trying to ascertain who the hell had shot at them.

It was early into the evening when they arrived back in town. As the two women dropped off the weapons and ammo they couldn't stop laughing from what they had done. "Ruby you are one crazy bitch you know that?" She said as they stepped one of the houses where Ruby began taking off the power armor and changing into her regular clothes. "A little fatal mischief goes a long way." Ruby said with a grin. Dusk chuckled as she helped her out of the suit. "Well I'm glad you're on our side that's for sure." Ruby smiled as she slipped off the gauntlet of the power armor and lightly punched Dusk in the arm with her bare hand. "I am too, could you imagine how boring I'd be if I was a member of the Enclave?" Dusk gave Ruby a smirk lightly slugging her in her arm as well. "Fuck yeah you'd be so dull, but at the same time I'd probably be the one to kill you." The two young women laughed again as if they were old friends. As Ruby slipped on her bra she saw Dusk snicker looking at her chest. "Jesus Christ Ruby, how do you walk around with a rack like that?" Ruby giggled and grinned at her as she got dressed, "Dusk if you want to compare sizes when we return home from this mission I'd be more than happy to." Dusk could only stand there and grin resisting the urge to give Ruby a retort. "So you have a plan yet to save everybody Ruby?" Dusk asked quickly changing the subject. Ruby thought for a moment as she slid on her cloak. "I think I might."

As the sun fell Ruby went over her defense plan with everyone. "Okay, since the only entrance into Big Town is from across that bridge they will be forced to come in single-file, but we need to be alert if they drop in guys via Vertibird." Everyone nodded in understanding as Shorty held a Missile Launcher in his arms. "I'd just like to see them try dropping their guys in that way." He said with a cocky grin. Ruby nodded to Shorty, "Just don't run out into the open guns blazing like you did with the muties alright Shorty?" He tried to retort with a flushed face as Ruby continued, "However, if shit goes south we'll need a back door, which is why I brought some C4 explosives that either Dusk or I will detonate if we have to evacuate Big Town." Everyone fell silent in a somber mood as soon as that was said. That was when Ruby smiled, "But that won't happen now will it guys?" That was when all of Big Town's citizens cheered guns in hand, Dusk and Malika stood in the background as Bale sat at his partner's feet wagging his tail. "Is she always this optimistic?" Dusk asked as she had an impressed smirk on her face. "Yeah, coupled with that charisma of hers why do you think Bale and I followed her?" Malika said with a proud motherly smile.

That was when a question came to Dusk's mind, "Weren't you on some sort of tribal quest when you first met with Ruby and Dogmeat? What happened to that?" Malika looked down and nodded, "Yes…the friend I was looking for; I had found his body near Arefu when I was on my way here…Something lead him to the Capital Wasteland, and I believe the Enclave might have something to do with it." Dusk patted her back in comfort. "We all have lost friends here, whether it is during war, or to the fucking wasteland itself, we'll do whatever we can to help you just ask us." Malika smiled and shook Dusk's hand. "Thank you, now if you'll excuse me I better go feed Bale and get some rest." Dusk nodded and chuckled, "Yeah god forbid the Enclave attacks while we all suffer from sleep deprivation." Malika smiled as she walked away to her tent with Bale.

Dusk walked over to Ruby as she dismissed the "troops". She lightly punched her shoulder chuckling. "You do realize we are horribly outmanned and outgunned right?" Ruby whimpered as she rubbed her shoulder nodding with a smirk. "Yeah, that's why we are going to kill as many of them as possible so they won't be able to shake off the humiliation." Dusk grinned as Ruby saw Bittercup and happily ran into her house like an animal in heat. "We might survive this war after all…" Dusk said to herself as she walked back to her own quarters.


	4. Chapter 4:A Night with Bittercup

As Ruby stepped into the house she could hear the song "I Don't Want to Set the World on Fire" playing on the radio in Bittercup's room. "Mood music huh…? She's certainly going all out." She mumbled and stepped into the room seeing the red-headed goth girl sitting on the floor in nothing but her tank top and panties with a couple of candles near her. Bittercup smiled as she saw her walk in. "Damn you look good…" Ruby whispered as she quickly unlaced and slid off her boots.

Bittercup giggled, her face flush with crimson as she helped Ruby take off her cloak before she pulled her into an immediate kiss. The two girls sat there for a while in a loving embrace as their tongues met in their kisses. Bittercup could only moan as she felt Ruby's lips drift down to her neck as she hastily unbuttoned the crimson-eyed woman's jeans and pulled them free. As Ruby's hands drifted down to her breasts Bittercup knew she only had limited time before her girlfriend would begin to cling tightly onto her before biting into her neck again. She first caressed her lower curves after having removed her jeans as all she could hear from Ruby was a lustful purr.

She then pulled off her panties as Ruby's tongue drifted along her collar bone and then stopped there as she felt her lightly nip the skin as she kissed it. "I love you so much…." was all Ruby could say as her purring turned into lustful panting. Ruby quickly slid off her tank top as Bittercup slid out of hers as well. She was trying her hardest not to drool as the urge to feed on Bittercup again grew. As Ruby unclipped her bra she brought Bittercup's hands to her breasts as she automatically began to grope and fondle. The sensations of pleasure were able to distract Ruby momentarily as she slid off Bittercup's bra and leaned in momentarily to tease her nipples with her tongue.

Bittercup only gasped in pleasure as she reached down to Ruby's vagina and began to caress it making Ruby shiver and growl with arousal. Bittercup smirked up at her as she caressed her womanhood. "One good tease deserves another.." She whispered as Ruby quickly struck back at her own vagina only inserting one of her fingers in teasing her inner walls causing Bittercup to let out a deep moan.

Ruby grinned as she moved her finger in and out watching Bittercup squirm and moan in pleasure. "Oh just fuck me already…!" Bittercup cried out as Ruby chuckled with glee. She shook her head as she kissed her girlfriend deeply on the lips. "Oh no I'll get to that soon enough I just want to enjoy this a bit more, besides its my turn to eat you out since you did me last time." She replied as she shuffled down between her legs and before Bittercup could respond Ruby went to work with her tongue. "Ooooh God!" Bittercup moaned as she bucked arching herself back as she felt the intense sensation of Ruby's tongue inside her.

This only lasted for a few minutes as Ruby continued licking and lapping up any juices that leaked out. Bittercup clawed her nails into the floor moaning loudly before Ruby suddenly stopped before she climaxed. As Ruby snuggled back up on top of her a grin spread across her face playfully nibbling along Bittercup's breasts, neck and collarbone. The two embraced once again as they began to rub on each other clashing their genitals with each other. Finally Ruby couldn't resist the urge anymore, as her own moans began she quickly and gently bit into Bittercup's neck and began to feed as she moaned.

It seemed as though Bittercup on the other hand, had been looking forward to this as she moaned even louder clinging to Ruby as her nails dug into the girl's back. This intimate ritual lasted for what seemed like hours before finally they both climaxed; their bodies stiffening before relaxing. As Ruby pulled away from Bittercup's neck she noticed a drop of her own blood on her girlfriend's lips and quickly licked it. Ruby could only giggle and kissed her deeply as the two of them cuddled and drifted off to sleep.

_ 6 hours later _

Dusk stepped out of the house and yawned as the morning sun rose on the horizon. As she stretched and began her morning calisthenics she spotted Ruby coming towards her along with the red-headed girl they saw yesterday clinging to her arm. The two of them were giggling and grinning stupidly at one another as Ruby waved to her. "Good morning lovebirds." Dusk said as she walked over to the two of them. "I take it you two had fun last night." Ruby's wide grin was enough of a confirmation for Dusk as she nodded.

"Hehehe at least we were able to get a little sleep last night after that." Bittercup said her face flush with crimson as she giggled. Ruby looked at her and grinned. "If we didn't have a war to fight that would have went a lot longer babe." She replied and deeply kissed her as Bittercup giggled. Dusk bit her lip as she was resisting the urge to gag when suddenly she felt an imminent aura of death come upon her. Suddenly a shot was heard as all the both of them saw was Bittercup go down with a look of shock and horror on her face and a large hole in her stomach, the skin around it charred from the laser. "NOOOOOOOOO!" Ruby howled as everyone in Big Town woke up and grabbed their weapons. The second Battle for Big Town, had begun.

** Hey guys this part was pretty lemony/smutty (I wouldn't know the technical term for certain sex scenes in fan fiction) so I apologize to those who didn't want to read the whole thing in detail. It was simply an experiment I wanted to try of whether writing in the full scene is better than cutting it out like I did in Wasteland Ghost. I don't know, what do you guys think? Is keeping the full scene better than cutting it out? Finally I should have the next chapter for The Blue Heavens Feel up next week so I'll see ya guys soon!**


	5. Chapter 5: The Battle for Big Town

Dusk grabbed Ruby by the shoulder dragging her into cover as she grabbed Bittercup's body. "Ruby leave her she's dead!" Dusk yelled as laser and plasma beams sizzled past them. Ruby could only stare into Bittercup's lifeless eyes as if she couldn't hear her. As Malika ran up with Bale, Flash and Shorty she saw Bittercup on the ground and gasped as the other two men growled in anger. They quickly got down and began firing at the incoming Enclave troopers as Malika and Bale got close to Dusk and Ruby. "What in the hell happened?!" She said wincing as they ducked under a plasma beam. "Bittercup got hit by a sniper and went down in the first few shots and now Ruby won't move a muscle!" Dusk replied as she continued trying shaking Ruby to her senses. _Damnit! This isn't looking good! _Malika thought as she tossed a grenade sending two power armored Enclave soldiers flying backwards.

That was when Dusk had an idea. "Cover me!" she said as she crept up next to Ruby. Malika nodded as Dusty and Timebomb arrived armed with assault rifles as they opened fire on the attacking forces. "Ruby look at me I'm not going to let you pussy out on me now!" She said slapping her across the face. Ruby only blinked as she took the hit and slowly looked at Dusk; eyes also lifeless. "Listen, I swear on my rifle and this fucking shithole of a Wasteland, if break down on me now everything you have done will have been in vain! Your Dad's sacrifice, nothing! Your girlfriend's death, nothing! You were ordered to come take command, save some lives and be an utter badass! We can cry over the dead later now give me order!" Ruby seemed to slowly nod tears finally streaming down her cheeks as life returned to her eyes. "Your right…pack everything up we are going to have to use our back door sooner than I thought." She replied after seeing Shorty go down after taking a hit to the leg from a plasma rifle. "Someone get Shorty to Red!" She yelled as she pulled out Scarlet and began firing at the Enclave.

Unfortunately the soldiers seemed to keep coming as conventional bullets seemed to have little effect. "Damnit die already!" Ruby growled in frustration as she shot one of the soldiers the bullet smashing through one of the yellow eyes as the man toppled over into the small pit below the bridge. That was when Ruby had an idea. "Everyone aim for their eyes!" She ordered as Kimba and Pappy came forward, rifles at the ready with Pappy carrying extra. "Ruby catch this!" He said as he tossed her sword and her beloved M4 over towards her. She quickly holstered Scarlet and gleefully caught the two weapons in her hands. "Thanks a bunch Pappy!" She replied as she clicked the safety off the assault rifle and began firing at the Enclave in full earnest. "Don't mention it! Dusk gave em to me saying you were going to need them!" He said smiling as he tossed his own grenade at a pair of Enclave soldiers attempting to cross the bridge as it exploded into wooden bits of shrapnel. Everyone cheered happily as Timebomb took his chance at getting Shorty to safety as he groaned in pain from his wound swearing obscenities at the Enclave as he was dragged away.

"That ought to slow them down a bit!" Ruby said as she pointed to Flash and Dusty. "Fall back and help Timebomb and Dusk pack everything up while Red patches up Shorty the rest of us will keep holding off the Enclave here!" Malika smiled as she told Bale to head to safety as well. _We are going to get through this alive, I know we will! _She thought as she placed her faith in Ruby's hands. Everyone ducked dodging plasma beams that were breaking through the cloud of dust that came from the bridge explosion. Ruby wondered for a moment if the soldiers were in a state of confusion and were attempting to smoke them out of their positions. That was when within the dust cloud she saw several dozen pairs of eyes light up at once. "Shit…Everyone continue firing! They are using thermal vision to spot us out!" She ordered as Flash and Dusty retreated to go assist the others. She could hear the heavy clink of the soldier's metal boots as they advanced slowly firing through the dust cloud. This time their shots were becoming more and more closely accurate narrowly grazing Kimba as she yelped in pain, "I'm hit but I'll be okay!" She called out to reassure the others.

Pappy however could see she was only putting up a front as her arm sizzled starting to melt the sleeve of her leather armor. "Kimba get down and hold still!" He said as he forced her down behind cover hearing Malika and Ruby close by firing at the incoming troops. Some of the glowing eyes fell over into the heap of the pit from trying to navigate through it. He could hear the soldiers themselves loudly barking orders to each other as he took out a combat knife. "Pappy what are you going to do with that?" Kimba asked as she gritted her teeth wincing from the pain. "Just hold still this might hurt." He replied as he grabbed her arm and began cutting into the sleeve near where it was melting until it was loose. He then pulled and tugged hard as the sleeve came off and he tossed it aside. He nearly gagged as the faint smell of burning flesh permeated his nostrils and took out some whiskey he had been saving back when Super Mutants used to plague them. "It isn't much but this will do." He said as he tore off a piece of his shirt sleeve. "Bite this Kimba," he said as she complied biting into the fabric and then yelped whimpering as he began to pour some of the liquid onto the wound. He nearly gagged again coughing as the wound began to bubble up with puss. Kimba spit out the fabric from his sleeve groaning in pain as he tore off another strip from his sleeve and quickly bandaged up the wound. "You can thank me when all this is over." He said as she smiled at him.

Lieutenant Jackson growled in frustration as he struggled to enter the town with his men. _This is taking too damn long! _He thought as two of his men went down in front of him dead. Suddenly the gunfire ahead of them seemed to move away as the dust cloud began to dissipate. "Alright now we are making progress! Everyone keep moving up they are falling back into a corner!" he bellowed in triumph as the rest of his company sprinted into the town rallying alongside him. As they ran in he could see their target rallying the citizens as some of them came running out with what looked like supplies. As they got closer she turned and tossed a plasma grenade in their direction. "Oh shit…" was all he was able to say before the resulting explosion engulfed him.

"Fuck yeah! I knew that grenade was going to be useful!" Ruby said as the Enclave troopers stumbled around in disarray trying to get a bead on her and the others. "Ruby I think you should do the honors!" Dusk yelled tossing the detonator to the C4 over to her. Ruby smiled as she caught it pressing against a wall for cover. "Fire in the hole!" Ruby yelled as she flicked the detonator causing the scrap wall of cars to explode sending shrapnel hurtling everywhere. All that remained was a wide passageway of scrap and dirt leaving them a chance to escape. "Alright everyone now's our chance move! Move! Move!" Ruby ordered filing everyone through. As she began following after them she noticed a rusty deactivated sentry bot. She turned towards it as Dusk spotted her. "Ruby what the hell are you doing?! We have to go now!" She yelled as Ruby opened up the bot's access panel. "Hold on I'm buying us more time!" She replied quickly hacking the robot clicking wires together. "This is no time for a noble sacrifice damnit!" Dusk said as she grabbed her by the shoulder and pulled her through the opening. Ruby had fortunately finished the hack before Dusk pulled her through as the robot sprang to life rolling towards the hostile Enclave soldiers firing its missiles and spinning its minigun. As they left Big Town Ruby looked back at the chaotic burning ruins with a solemn expression in her eyes. She wiped the last of her tears away as she said. "Goodbye Bittercup…I'll miss you babe…" and ran to catch up with the others.

"Sonuva bitch!" Jackson growled in pain as the burning from the plasma grenade sizzled on his power armor only making his skin feeling as if it were on fire. He could hear his men still dealing with the sentry bot as he began tapping into his radio. "_This is Lieutenant Jackson! The enemy is fleeing and we are taking heavy fire from a lone combat drone! Requesting rapid Deathclaw pursuit of hostiles over!" _Lieutenant Banning could only snicker at his pain on the other line as she replied. "_Acknowledged Deathclaws are inbound." _


	6. Chapter 6: A Close Friend Indeed

It had been several hours since the Enclave assault on Big Town, and after causing 15 casualties the Brotherhood of Steel representatives were in full retreat with the surviving citizens of the settlement. Night had long since fallen, for once the Capital Wasteland was almost completely and eerily quiet, caravans had to travel silently to avoid Enclave patrols, and any Enclave sympathizing wastelanders seemed to vanish from their homes overnight. They were rumored to have either suddenly left their homes for Enclave lines, or were suddenly abducted by the Enclave themselves for possible labor. Travelers and veterans of the war say it was the most silent the wasteland had ever been claiming "It was as if, either the whole world around us just stopped or everyone and everything out there died." All that could be seen in the sky were the dark formations of a squadron of stealth Vertibirds traversing over the Wastes, each carrying a deadly and viciously frightening cargo on their winches.

This group of pilots was known as Hellhound squadron, or as many in both the Enclave and the Brotherhood of Steel came to dub them as the "Flying Deathclaws". The aircraft themselves were painted black with the insignia for the Enclave emblazoned on their wings, part of what set them apart however were the large red claws painted on each side of the VTOLs. They would normally be tasked with dealing with problems that regular Enclave soldiers weren't able to fix, whether it was deploying special ops teams or mind controlled Super Mutants and Deathclaws. Inside the lead Vertibird was the squadron's captain, a young woman barely in her mid-twenties named Carly Atkinson, a feared woman among other Vertibird pilots and well respected among her superiors. When she was barely a teenager and a cadet in the Enclave she was at the top of her class. She always showed frightening focus and valiant determination in completing her missions, even if they were simulations.

Tonight was no exception; only to her she was not only determined, but almost excited. Horror stories of the Wasteland Ghost, also known as the Lone Wanderer whom command had dubbed "Objective Boudicca" had already worked its way around the dark, cold walls of Raven Rock. The stories of the things Objective Boudicca had done to many of the raider's local populace of the Wasteland had become the stuff of nightmares for many recruits. Carly however, was interested in the legend the young woman had built in such a short time. She remembered hearing about the girl's skills on the battlefield which made Carly dream of meeting the woman to see what kind of person she truly was.

"This is Hellhound-1; 30 seconds to drop point, everyone begin lowering your winches." She said into the communications mic on her pilot's helmet. All of her subordinates acknowledged as the crates began drifting down closer to the ground. She watched the delivery process occur as she mumbled "Easy….Easy…" and then the hooks came free as the crates touched down. "Aannnddd they are down." She said and took out the control device pressing a switch as the crates opened. The creatures inside momentarily hesitated as they slowly stepped out of the crates. They growled as their strange armor-like augments to their bodies broadcasted the orders to their minds. The Alpha Male among the group stepped forward and roared catching a scent of campfire smoke far off in the distance and the pack sped off after him following the scent.

"Is she okay?" Red asked Malika as the retreating survivors of the Battle of Big Town had stopped for the night to camp and rest. Malika looked up the hill, at the top sat Ruby comfortably cleaning her M4 in the dark as she looked out over the rest of the group. Everyone had been extremely worried about her as after they had fled from the town she had kept to herself and kept silent. They all knew Bittercup's death had hit her hard, Dusk was sure the loss of the battle was wearing on her as well. "I don't know Red…for once I don't know…" Malika replied as she sighed, she had always tried to keep a professional friendly relationship with Ruby ever since they first met, however the tribal woman had come to see Ruby as if she were her daughter. To Malika Ruby was like a lost little girl wandering the hellish Wastes alone; and had been tainted by it as a result. Dusk nodded over to Malika as she stood up. Malika smiled at her, glad that Ruby had someone she could rely on within the Brotherhood.

Dusk passed Flash and Pappy as they were attempting to cook dinner for everyone else as Timebomb was busy helping Red look over Shorty and Kimba as they had been severely wounded during the fighting. Ruby peered down at Dusk as her red eyes seemed to glitter in the darkness of the night. As Dusk got closer she could almost make out Ruby's lips moving, as if she were talking with someone beside her. _Oh Good God I knew Ruby was nuts but now she's talking to someone who isn't there! She's more messed up than I thought…_ She thought as she shook her head. "Come to give me a therapy session Dusk?" Ruby said grinning at the young Asian woman as she sat down at her side laying her sniper rifle on the ground. Dusk chuckled as she thought for a moment, "Yeah…I've come to fix your 'fuck you' problem and your 'holy crap my tits are huge' issues." She said as Ruby lightly punched her in the arm. "Bringing up my tits again eh? God you're either that jealous of them or you just want me to take my top off." Dusk laughed as she punched her arm, "Ruby no one wants to see your monster breasts." Ruby grinned as she looked at her. "Alright Dusk, what are you up here for?"

Dusk sighed as she looked down at the camp. "Look Ruby…I don't claim to know what you're going through…but for the love of God don't blame yourself okay?" Ruby blinked as if confused, "What do you mean?" Dusk looked at her with slight irritation in her eyes. "Oh don't give me that shit Ruby, everyone in this rag tag group of refugees and one tribal have been watching you figuratively kicking the shit out of yourself." She sighed as Ruby looked down. "It was bad enough that I lost Bittercup…I loved that girl to death…but getting chased out of town like that? I knew we were outnumbered, sure, I knew we were horribly outgunned, but all the crap in Big Town went to shit faster than I expected." Dusk looked at her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Look, you did everything you could back there, this is war, and…well everything doesn't always go as originally planned. Sometimes things will go to shit..."

Ruby couldn't help but smile at Dusk's rather awkward attempt at comforting her as the woman nervously blushed while she spoke the words. "A-Anyway the point is that I'm sure Bittercup wouldn't want to see you like this and she'd want you to keep fighting." She said and sighed in relief finally getting the uncomfortable words of kindness out. "Thanks Dusk…." Ruby whispered as she leaned her head on her shoulder. "But fucking Christ you are such a sap…" She said causing a giggle out of Dusk as she punched Ruby's side shoving her off. "Hey you started it you pussy." The two women just sat there chuckling to each other like old friends until Dusk stopped and sighed. "Ruby…do you know why I was told to come along with you on this mission and no one else?" Ruby grinned as she playfully nudged her arm. "Because you are secretly head over heels for me and you begged and begged Sarah to go?"

Dusk chuckled as she shook her head. "No Ruby this is serious," She said as she began to explain the orders she was given. "I was told to accompany you on this mission was so I could assess your skills as a soldier and a commander on the battlefield." That was when Ruby went silent as she stared at her. "Why is that Dusk…?" She asked looking at her narrowly and suddenly suspicious. She gazed back at Ruby as she said. "Well as far as I can gather, since you are technically under the protection of the Brotherhood of Steel, Elder Lyons and all the old fucks up the chain of command are looking at recruiting you…" That was when she saw Ruby's eyes go wide with shock as she looked down. "Wow….I didn't think it would actually happen…" She said keeping her eyes down to the ground.

Dusk stared at her slightly worried. "I understand if it's a lot to take in and if you want to refuse I can-""HELL YES ILL JOIN!" Ruby yelled happily as she hugged her friend tightly. "I've been waiting for this since I first met you guys!" She said giggling with excitement. Dusk groaned as Ruby squeezed her. "Hey easy Ruby calm down there could be a patrol nearby..!" Ruby immediately went quiet as she giggled hysterically. As she did so she suddenly remembered the events earlier. "Hold on…wouldn't that mean I failed the mission then? We were unable to fend off the Enclave from Big Town." She asked as she tilted her head confused. Dusk smiled at her with a sheepish grin. "Oh that, well see while we did sort of get our asses handed to us, we did deal considerable damage to the enemy and plus." She said as she pointed down to everyone else in the camp. "The majority of everyone in Big Town is right here, still alive, still kicking, and still fighting."

"So you're saying we accomplished the mission?" Ruby asked still confused with the results. Dusk could only nod and smile as she said. "Everyone here is still alive aren't they? I'd say that's a damn fine job well done." Ruby blushed; happy that someone of an organization she praised so much had so much confidence in her to get things done. On random impulse she leaned towards Dusk and kissed her. She then quickly pulled back shocked and embarrassed at what she had just done. Dusk chuckled nervously with a blush as she said. "Well…that was new. Allow me to repay in kind." She then grabbed Ruby and returned her kiss; Ruby could only gasp as she tasted her friend's tongue. When the two finally broke free they were quiet looking away from another and then Ruby asked. "I had no idea you were into women Dusk…"

Dusk nervously chuckled as she gave Ruby a hug. "Hey I like to try a little bit of everything once, besides Ruby, we are friends aren't we?" Ruby blushed as she returned the embrace and whispered. "You are such a shitty kisser." This stirred a grin from Dusk as she pulled away and looked closely into her eyes. "Hey when we get back do you mind if I crash at your place in Megaton for a while? My bunk at the Citadel is cramped to shit." Ruby smiled as she thought of introducing her to Maggie. "Of course you can, my house is practically my own little headquarters anyway." She said and then suddenly grabbed hold of her M4 as a loud scream was heard in the camp. "What the hell?!" She said as she looked down into the camp, Dusk could only gasp as she saw large slender figures rapidly approaching the camp as one had already breached the perimeter. It stood in the firelight growling with the gored and bloody corpse of Timebomb under its claws as it glared down at Kimba and Shorty as they frantically were trying to get up and get away. Everyone else in camp didn't stop to stare as they quickly went for their weapons. "What in fucking shit is that thing?!" Ruby yelled as she fired down at the demonic-like beast. Dusk gritted her teeth as she clicked off the safety of her sniper rifle firing at the other beasts rapidly running towards the camp. "Those are Deathclaws! A whole pack of them too!"

Ruby continued firing at the Alpha Male Deathclaw peering over Shorty and Kimba about to strike as the bullets seemed to have no effect. It grunted from the slight pain as its scaly skin and metal armor took most of the damage. As it turned towards its new threat a wave of electric signals were sent to its brain as it sighted the two human females. One of which smelled strange, it let out a large roar brandishing its now bloody claws; and began to charge.


	7. Chapter 7: An Acceptable Day

Ruby felt Dusk push her aside as she jumped out of the way of the Deathclaw's nails at the last second of its charge. However the Alpha Male ignored Dusk as he turned towards Ruby raising one of its claws in a downward strike. For the first time in a while Ruby felt fear boiling up in her insides as she quickly rolled under the beast narrowly avoiding getting impaled. As she saw the monster's exposed belly she pressed the barrel of her M4 against the leathery flesh and fired hoping she struck anything vital. The beast roared in pain as Ruby yelled "Dusk! Go get my sword! Or my Gauss Rifle! Anything to fight these things!" She couldn't see Dusk as she heard her footsteps running down the hill and into the camp where the chaos had already ensued.

That was when she heard the Deathclaw attempt to bend over trying to pull her out from under him as she heard teeth chomping close to her head. Finally it seemed to leap off of her to in an attempt to catch her as she got up. Ruby quickly reloaded as she saw blood dripping from the beast's wounded stomach. "Heh at least you can be hurt." She said with a grin as it roared in anger charging at her again with renewed speed. She quickly dived off to the side keeping her eyes on its horns and claws. She quickly fired again at its exposed flesh striking some hits along its back as it backpedaled onto a rock and jumped at her, arms open brandishing its claws in a fatal hug. "Oh how sweet!" She said giggling as she danced away from its claws again attempting to fire at its exposed flesh again.

This time the beast was prepared as it jumped out of the way, the bullets impacting the rocks themselves. "Ooooh" Ruby whistled; "Clever Boy" She said as she fired at it again trying to aim for the eyes. This time it seemed to duck as it ran towards her the bullets chipping its horns, hitting its shoulders and impacting the mind control module on its head. It roared in agony as it stopped and stumbled backwards grabbing for the damaged device. Ruby watched with fascinated interest as the metal device was ripped off of its head. "You certainly weren't acting like yourself were you Big Boy?" The Deathclaw alpha shook its head in a huff recovering its original primal state of mind and then looked towards Ruby. The human female before her smelled so strange, her flesh looked human but at the same time her scent was something else. From where he stood he could tell her body was excreting the liquid humans called "sweat" as her body trembled with something he had come to understand with most of his prey. At the same time it almost seemed as if she was enjoying herself, like she knew she would defeat him.

Who was this human? What was she really? The alpha decided to brush this aside as he brandished his claws growling; more focused now that the silvery mount was off from his head. He got down on all fours as he growled ferociously; assessing its opponent…its prey…and its predator. "Seems like you aren't done yet are you?" Ruby said as she shouldered her rifle aiming at the creature that was more alert of her now. "Ruby!" She heard Dusk yell out as she came running with Ruby's sword in her hands. Ruby smiled as she caught the sword putting down her rifle. "Hell yes! This is going to be fun!" She twirled her beloved blade down around in her hands and then readied herself in a fighting stance she had created during her sessions of practice back home.

As the Deathclaw alpha saw this he knew this would be the final strike, the one who missed would be the one to die. So it mustered its remaining strength ignoring its bleeding wounds and ran at her; claws at the ready. As it jumped at her it swing its left claw upwards and the other downwards. Ruby saw this and knew she wasn't going to walk out of this without a scratch. She ducked and thrust the blade upwards. What happened next ended in a splash of blood as Ruby's sword pierced through the Deathclaw's throat as she felt his claw cut into her thigh. She gritted her teeth enduring the pain as blood jetted onto her face from the creature's throat as it gazed at her growling; its eyes slowly losing life.

In its last moments; the deathclaw alpha saw the girl's eyes glowing like beautiful red jewels. At that second it realized; if this girl were a female deathclaw like him, he would see to it in courting her as his mate. It gave her the closest a deathclaw could to a grin on its face as she released the metal stick from its throat and it fell to the ground dead.

Ruby smiled as she gazed down at the corpse of the deadliest beast she had ever faced in the Capital Wasteland. "Fuck that was amazing…." She whispered as she stared at it. As she heard the blood dripping from its body she could feel a familiar lust beginning to overcome her. "Well…it's not like I'm devouring his flesh raw is it?" She crouched down and began attempting to turn the body over. After several minutes of trying; and seeing that Dusk had returned to the camp to help the others. She was able to turn the dead Deathclaw over on its back where she could see where her sword punctured. She gently licked her lips as she gazed at the fresh blood flowing from the wound. "For some reason…that blood smells so amazing…" She mumbled as she opened her mouth and bit into the wound.

Her eyes went wide as she fed; the sensation she felt rush through her body was so intense she had to fight herself to keep from swooning. "Whoa…" She heard someone say causing her to come out of her pleasure-induced trance and quickly sit up as she saw Dusk staring at her. As blood dripped from her lips the two young women gazed at each other. "Dusk I-""You are really into some fucked up shit Ruby." Dusk said with her usual grin. Ruby chuckled nervously as she looked down. "Yeah…it's a long story…" she said fighting back the tears she knew were rising up in her eyes.

Dusk stepped around the corpse and held out her hand. "C'mon… reinforcements showed up five minutes ago so let's get going." As she took her hand and stood up she took hold of her sword and lashed the blood from the blade as it splashed onto the ground. She refused to look at Dusk as they began walking back towards the camp. That was when the tears began falling. Ruby felt so terrified that she had disgusted Dusk or scared her after she saw her feed on the Deathclaw. As they walked that was when the pain from the wound on her leg returned. "Ugh fucking damnit!" She growled in frustration as she looked down at it. As soon as Dusk saw it she gasped. "Oh shit…" she said and then looked towards the camp where a squad of Brotherhood of Steel soldiers was tending to everyone.

"Kodiak we need your medic over here fast!" She yelled as one of the soldiers looked over towards them seeing Ruby limping and called over to one of his comrades as they ran over to them. She sat Ruby down on a rock as she took off her cloak. When the two soldiers arrived they both stared at Ruby for a moment. "Well I'll be damned…" One of them said as he took off his helmet; revealing himself to be an African American male looking to be in his early 30's. "Is this our new recruit Dusk?" He asked as the medic quickly opened his kit. Dusk nodded as she stared at Ruby's wound with concern. As the medic tended to the wound Ruby took off her boot to help him work as he began cutting off the pant leg. She winced in pain as she saw the man who she assumed to be Kodiak ask Dusk. "Why the hell does she look like she took a blood bath?" Dusk looked at Ruby for a moment making her feel uneasy seeing what Ruby had done to the Deathclaw's corpse only moments ago. "She fought the Alpha male of that Deathclaw pack the Enclave sent after us and killed it after stabbing its jugular."

Kodiak looked down at Ruby; surprise written all over his face as he whole-heartily laughed. "Wow we got another badass in the Brotherhood!" He said as he smiled at her. Ruby's face went red or more specifically as visibly red as it could be beyond all the blood on her face. "Thanks for the compliment…" she said nervously. Kodiak then went over to where she and the Alpha male Deathclaw had fought as she heard the medic gasp. He looked at Ruby for a moment; and as Ruby was unable to tell the emotion the field medic was feeling on his face. The medic patted her shoulder as she heard the voice of a young woman. "You're going to be okay." She said and began wrapping the wound in a bandage after applying a dosage of Med-X to the wound.

She helped Ruby back on her feet as she put her cloak back on. "You should be alright in a few hours just don't put a lot of weight on that leg alright ma'am?" She asked staring at Ruby for a moment. Ruby slowly nodded and looked over at Dusk. Concern and worry was painted all over the woman's face. Ruby sighed as she turned and began limping towards the camp and felt Dusk grab her hand in a tight squeeze. "Hey I told you to quit kicking your own ass didn't I?" Dusk said. Ruby looked at her as Dusk gave her the usual cocky grin. "Look I don't give a fuck what you are, what you do, or even who or what you like having sex with. We are friends Ruby; I'm not going to demonize you just because I saw you doing ONE unusual thing." That was when Ruby smiled as she quickly rushed to wipe the tears that were now flowing from her eyes.

"There you go again Dusk; being all sappy and getting us both emotional." Ruby said giggling between sniffles. She also couldn't wipe the smile from her face as she silently thanked her for not being hating her. "Hey you guys I got something for you!" Kodiak said running back towards them with Ruby's M4 in his hand. "I believe you dropped this little pup." He said smiling as he gave her the weapon. Ruby smiled at him as she slung the weapon back over her shoulder. "Thanks sir, I'm Ruby Hanson." She said introducing herself with the cutest smile she could manage. Kodiak smiled as he shook her hand. "Greg Bear, but my friends call me Kodiak." He said nodding towards Dusk as she playfully punched his arm lightly.

The rest of the trip back home was a breeze as Kodiak's squad of Initiates loaded Ruby and the other wounded onto field stretchers. When they finally arrived at the elementary school in Springvale where other Brotherhood members stood waiting for their return. "There are our conquering heroes!" one of the guards said waving over at them. "Hey Knight Captain Dusk bag any government-spewing shit bags?" Dusk laughed as she said. "Yeah we'll be spewing stories about it in the mess hall!" He laughed as she sighed following the medics as they took Ruby to the patient room. As they moved her to a bed she grinned at Dusk. "Oh you got me a fresh clean comfy bed for me to sleep in? Oh dearest Dusk you spoil me so!" Dusk grinned laughing as she sat down next to her. "Hey treasure it; it's one of the only few in the Wasteland so get used to it okay? Get some rest and Sarah will come give you a debriefing on our adventure tomorrow." Ruby giggled as she covered herself in the blanket quickly undressing herself of her wet bloody clothes.

"I'll see you in the morning then…" Ruby said as she began drifting off to sleep. As Dusk began walking away Ruby stopped her. "Oh and Dusk…?" She stopped and looked at her; Ruby gave her a sweet smile and said. "Thanks…for backing me up out there." Dusk smiled and nodded before leaving the room. As Ruby rolled over she saw Thorn smiling at her licking blood from her own lips. _"Considering certain events I would say today was an acceptable day…" _She whispered and snuggled up against Ruby's chest. "Yeah….I agree" She said and finally went to sleep.


End file.
